


if we got nothing, we got us

by tumsa



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sick Harry, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 07:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1735883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tumsa/pseuds/tumsa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is Louis' baby and he's sick as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	if we got nothing, we got us

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this post](http://ohthefond.tumblr.com/post/87566936611/i-bet-the-guy-who-hates-cooking-knows-at-least-a-one) on Tumblr. I tagged it as canon, but I am shit with timelines and everything, so no promises. I just wanted cuddles and comfort.
> 
> Title from "Something I Need" by OneRepublic.

It starts as a really good day, Harry gets to wake up in his old bed after another great show in Manchester, he is home with his family and Louis, and it's the wedding anniversary of his mum and Robin so there is a promise of some cake and champagne. He knows he should feel really great about it, and he's not _not_ feeling great, but there's a dull feeling in his head and tiredness in his bones that is different from your typical post show exhaustion. He spends the day chilling on the sofa, watching his mum's wedding videos with everyone and some boxing videos Matty really wants to see, eating a little bit of the chocolate cake and skipping on any alcohol. He has to drive back to Manchester later anyway, and that sounds like a better excuse than "I feel like anything sparkling will make me throw up". Louis spends a lot of his time chatting with Robin about football and buying _Doncaster Rovers_ and sweet talking Anne into making his favorite sandwiches. Harry's closest family knows about their relationship but they still act careful, it's not like Harry thinks Matt, Ben or aunt Dee and uncle Mike will go and tell the world it's just they don't want to take any chances, so they do spend their time together, but skip on PDA or being too coupley, anything that would look suspicious when photographed. Ella and her boyfriend Ryan are over as well, and while he's a nice guy it doesn't hurt to be careful anyway. And not having Louis too close is actually good for now because nobody notices that Harry's feeling weird, and he really doesn't want his mom or anyone else to worry today, especially today.

The itching in his throat starts after they've left home. They are already in a car when Niall calls and tells them that one of the meetings is cancelled (and thank god, because Harry is really, _really_ not feeling like talking about Eleanor), so they have a little bit of a free time to kill. Louis comes up with an idea about  _Great Budworth Ice Cream Farm_  since Harry loves their Christmas pudding ice cream so much and Harry feels like something cold really could make him feel better, so they make a detour and go to the place. Louis stays in a car because it's the middle of a really warm Sunday and the place will be full with people, and Harry runs to get them some ice cream cones. After he's done with taking a few fan photos and getting back to the car Louis coos over his half melted mint chocolate chip ice cream and gives Harry a minty kiss for remembering his favorite while Harry tries to think of a tweet about ice cream of all things. He has two messages from their PR team, reminders to be more active on twitter since they are trying to move the spotlight from Louis and Zayn to Liam, Niall and Harry. He ends up tweeting " _I scream, you scream. We all scream.._ " and that makes Louis snort and shake his head.

"Your _scream_ is melting, Harold," he says, taking away Harry's phone, he finds some tissues in the door pocket and gives them to Harry, so none of the melting goody end up on Harry's new _Nike_ sweatpants. The ice cream is still cold enough to make Harry's throat numb so the itchy feeling goes away for a while, but it also makes his head feel like it's about to burst, like it does when you eat too much ice cream too fast, so he ends up giving half of his ice cream to Louis with an excuse of needing to get going before someone sees them in a car. Louis gets a call from his mum and while he's busy operating the melting ice cream cone and talking with his mum and Lottie, Harry pretends to not feel his sore throat. Maybe it will just go away.

 

 ~*~*~

It doesn't go away. It gets worse even though Harry manages to sneakily get three strawberry flavored throat lozenges without anyone noticing. All of them are feeling a little bit ill after spending so many evenings singing and dancing in the rain, Louis sniffles from time to time and Liam drinks so many cups of the hot tea that Zayn jokes about writing a poem dedicated to Liam's steal bladder. So when Harry makes a cup of chamomile tea and spends most of the soundcheck humming instead of singing Niall just says "you too, eh?" and all of them get told to not go too hard on their voices. It's only when Lou is fixing his hair and brushing her hand against his forehead, frowning and putting her palm on it that Harry realizes it's really not gonna go away.

"You're warm," Lou comments, and Harry can almost see her thought process, it's not that hot in the room, he's in a thin t-shirt and his cheeks are a bit more red than usually. She goes full mummy mode before Harry can even open his mouth. "Are you sick? Do I need me to get someone for you? And you can't wear that on the stage, you need something with long sleeves. I'll ask Caroline, and you need to get something for the fever!" 

"Fever? What fever?" Niall asks, walking in the tiny dressing room that Lou has declared as her working space. He goes from smiling to worried in a second. "You have a _fever_?"

"No," Harry laughs, tries to brush it off because he knows how a real fever feels. He also knows he _is_ getting sick and his body temperature probably is a bit more than it should be, but the show is about to start so there's nothing he can do now anyway. "Lou's just overreacting, 's nothing."

"You sure?" Niall asks and Harry's throat chooses that exact moment to make him feel like choking, he coughs and winces at how painful it feels. Definitely getting sick. Shit.

"Shit."

"Harry, if you're sick-", Niall starts but Harry shakes his head.

"I can sing, I'll be fine, just a bit of a soar throat. Maybe I just need more of Liam's magic tea."

"Harry." Niall shakes his head and Harry coughs again. It's obvious that Niall is having none of that. "Band meeting," he says and Harry can't even reply because his traitorous throat is killing him with another coughing fit.

 

 ~*~*~

"I can sing," Harry repeats for what is feeling like the millionth time. Caroline is making sure his new black sweater looks okay, Lou is retouching his foundation and not too subtly checking his forehead again and he has a cup of tea with honey pushed into his hands and another cold drop in his mouth and everyone is talking about who will sing what parts if Harry can't sing, ignoring his protests. Paul is talking on his phone with a doctor and mixing more tea and honey in a colorful plastic cup and Harry feels a little bit like throwing a tantrum. He never does that though, so he really must be sick, he drinks tea and allows Niall and Zayn to split his choruses trying to not move around too much until Lou declares she's done. As soon as she steps back Louis moves into her place, puts his palm on Harry's lower back while still talking with Liam. 

"Don't think we can get a chicken broth here," Liam says, tapping on his phone screen, scrolling something that must be an article about sore throat remedies. 

"We can ask someone to get it for when we arrive to the hotel," Louis provides, "also saltwater, we have to have some salt on the bus, right? And maybe we can stop somewhere to get a cough syrup, sounds like Paul will be able to get H to a doctor tomorrow."

"I am right here, you know?" Harry says, rolling his eyes. 

"Hush, Haz," Louis shushes him looking stern, but his hand is rubbing gentle circles over Harry's back, "you're sick, don't strain your voice. I can't believe you ate ice cream today!"

"You know a sore throat is most often caused by a virus, ice cream actually eases the pain and it's only a myth that- " Harry stops because Louis is giggling at him. He's laughing while Harry is very seriously trying to defend his rights for an ice cream. Harry pouts.

"Oh, Harold," Louis smiles and pulls Harry closer. "Come on, we have to go," he says because Paul is shouting for everyone to get ready since they have only five minutes left until the show starts. Harry is still pouting a little bit when Louis stops him right before they are about to go on the stage. He looks serious and Harry lets himself to be pulled into a hug.

"You're sure you okay to sing?" Louis whispers in Harry's ear, he sounds worried and Harry feels a bit silly because it makes him feel warm and fuzzy, he doesn't like to _make_ Louis worried, never that, but he's glad that there's someone who loves and worries about him as much as he does it back.

"I'm sure, Lou. Come on, let's rock this!"

 

~*~*~

It's horrible. He smiles and dances and talks to the fans, makes sure to talk with everyone so those who are not close enough to the stage don't feel left out, smiles and waves at the VIP seats where his family is seated, cracks some jokes even, but his throat gets worse with every song and he can feel Louis secret worried glances every time he sips on the tea Paul has made. He tries to do his best because people have paid to hear him sing and he doesn't want to let anyone down, but every time he has to hit the big notes it feels like swallowing a broken glass and it doesn't take long until his voice breaks at the end of _Moments_. It sucks and he feels angry because he knows he can sing that note just fine and it feels like he's back on the X-Factor, messing up _everything_. It's obvious that he can't sing alone though so boys help him with his _Strong_ solo and he dances extra hard during _Better Than Words_ , but as soon as _What Makes You Beautiful_ ends, he runs off the stage where Paul is already waiting with another cup of tea and another throat  _lozenge_ and Lou hands him a towel so he can swipe of some of the sweat. He sits down on a couch while Caroline is shouting at Louis to get changed, but he's having none of it. Harry watches him walking over and sitting next to Harry.

"Do you need anything, H?" he asks, wrapping a hand around Harry's waist. Harry lets his head rest on Louis' shoulder, he feels so tired that the only thing he needs is a bed and a cuddle. They still have to sing though and there is no time for whining and crying. 

"I hate to mess up," Harry sighs as Louis kisses his forehead. "Fans-"

"Fans won't care, Haz, they are gonna be proud that you stayed and sang even though you're sick."

"Hey," Zayn says, he's changed and so is Niall and Liam, they need to get back on the stage. "We're gonna help you sing your parts, okay? You need to rest your voice."

Harry nods because there's nothing else to do. Paul calls them back and Caroline is throwing a _Stone Roses_ shirt at Louis telling him to change or else, and Harry only needs to get through a few more songs. He can do it, he thinks, while Louis winks at him over Caroline's shoulder. 

 

~*~*~

His mum is a little bit worried but he gets a quick shower and change of clothes before their families come to the backstage so he looks and feels better. He gets hugs and takes photos with everyone and now when he doesn't have to sing his throat feels a bit better too. He winks at Lottie over Jay's shoulder and tries not to laugh as she blushes and turns back to Fizzy and Louis who does not look as amused as Harry feels.

"Harry, stop making my daughter blush," Jay says with a laughter in her voice, knowing exactly what he's up to. "She already has more posters of you than we need."

Harry laughs at that and then coughs immediately and lets Jay pat his back. He does find Lottie's fangirl crush endearing and funny, knows that Fizzy is no better around Niall, but he also knows that it will make everything ten times worse when Lottie finds about Louis and Harry. He's too tired to think about it now, lets Jay get him another cup of tea since those seem to magically appear every time he coughs. They get told that the buses are ready to leave, so Harry hugs his mum again and promises to get some rest and let her know how he feels in the morning. He hugs all of his friends and relatives and for a brief moment he thinks about tweeting something about the show, but tiredness takes over and he lets Paul lead him to their security and walks with them to the bus. He doesn't feel like chatting or having a bear with everyone, doesn't feel the usual aftershow buzz that needs to be killed before sleeping, so he chooses "the quiet bus" instead of the "party one". 

He sits down on the couch and takes of his boots. It's not the best idea to walk around in socks even though the floor is carpeted, too much dirt and spilled drinks everywhere, but he wants to curl up on the couch and maybe watch a movie or something before he actually goes to sleep. His throat feels like on fire but he's too tired to go and find some painkillers. He will do it though, he just needs to rest a little bit, close his eyes for a minute.

"Harry, Haz, baby," Louis murmurs close to Harry's ear and for a moment he's not sure what is happening. "Don't sleep like that, your back will hurt. Come on, let's get to you the bunks."

"Mmm," Harry makes a sound of protest because he doesn't want to move, he's too tired and moving sounds horrible. They're gonna be soon in Edinburgh anyway, four hours tops probably and then he can sleep on a proper bed. "Why are you here, Lou?" Louis is the opposite of Harry, he needs to laugh and talk and jump on a couch a few times, kill the adrenaline before he feels ready to get some sleep. He's almost always on the Bus 1.

"I'm here to get you to the bed, come on, up you get," Louis says, pulling Harry by his arm. Harry swats his hands away.

"Don't wanna," he protests and opens his eyes properly, realizing that the bus is moving already. It's quiet and everyone on their bus must be asleep already. Louis is smiling down at Harry so fondly that Harry's heart hurts. "Can I have a cuddle, please?" he murmurs because he feels a bit cold and cuddling sound nice. Cuddling with Louis is always nice.

"Since you're asking so politely," Louis smiles but moves away instead. Harry whines. "You're shivering, Haz, let me grab a blanket and make you a cuppa."

"Okay," Harry agrees and tries not to fall asleep again before Louis is back. Louis makes him drink a little bit of tea and something that Harry assumes is an Advil pill, and sits down on the couch. Louis  rests his back against armrest and puts his legs in the couch as well, Harry crawls over and curls between Louis' legs, resting his head under Louis' chin. His taller than Louis, longer limbs and everything, but right now he feels small and needy. Louis puts the blanket over them and then carefully removes the headscarf from Harry's hair. He hums something that suspiciously sounds like Ed's new song, stroking Harry's hair.

"I'm sorry you're sick, H," he murmurs in Harry's curls and Harry smiles, tries to think of an answer but sleep takes over.

 

~*~*~

He wakes up a few hours later alone and frowns. It's almost dark, only light coming from the kitchenette part of the bus and a small wall lamp next to the TV. He's about to get up and find where Louis has disappeared when Louis appears with a steamy cup in one hand and a paper cup of coffee with _Southwaite Services_ logo on it in another.

"Here, drink it," Louis says giving him a cup with something that looks like a chicken broth in it.

"Lou, I am dying already," Harry frowns, because he has never seen Louis making a soup. "Why are you trying to kill me?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Louis rolls his eyes and drinks some of his coffee. It's weird to see him drinking something that is not tea. "Here I was trying to help my boyfriend, but if it's that bad I can throw it out." He looks sleepy and tired and Harry suddenly feels guilty. Louis probably needs sleep just as much. Now when he thinks about the coffee cup from a service station, he's pretty sure Louis just bought a bouillon cube and poured some hot water over it, but a warm bouillon sounds nice, Harry skipped the after show meal and feels a tiny bit hungry.

"I'm just joking, Lou," Harry smiles and sips on the liquid hoping that it will taste at least bearable. It's actually good, a bit salty, but nice and warm and Harry's throat feels better immediately. "Come on, help me to drink this delicious soup that my loving and perfect spouse had made."

Louis snorts that flattery will get Harry nowhere but it does get him more cuddles from Louis while he drinks the chicken broth so Harry won't complain about it. When he's done Louis puts the mug down on the floor along with his coffee cup and pulls Harry closer.

"We're gonna get to the hotel soon, we're in Edinburgh already," Louis murmurs yawning. It will still probably take some time for them to park and check in, so they can still get some sleep.

"Sing me to sleep?" Harry asks, wrapping his hands around Louis' waist. Him sleeping on Louis is not the most comfortable position for Louis, but he doesn't complain, just puts his arms around Harry as well.

"Are you quoting _The Smiths_ or do you actually want a lullaby, baby?" Louis teases and Harry can hear the smile in his voice.

"'m not a baby, Lewis," he yawns. He feels sleepy and tired and so comfortable, it's one of those moments that he doesn't want to stop.

"Not _a_ baby, _my_ baby," Louis says and Harry hums in agreement.

The last thing he hears before falling asleep is Louis quietly singing  _settle down with me, cover me up, cuddle me in._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come, hang out with me on [tumblr](http://babyoflouis.tumblr.com/).


End file.
